


Facing a New World (Abandoned)

by Kaspy



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Abandoned Work - Unfinished and Discontinued, Connor-centric, Gen, Good Parent Hank Anderson, Hank Anderson & Connor Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, No Slash, Post-Battle for Detroit (Detroit: Become Human), Post-Detroit: Become Human (Video Game), Post-Pacifist Best Ending (Detroit: Become Human), Protective Hank Anderson, Whump
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-29
Updated: 2019-02-10
Packaged: 2019-10-18 13:06:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,153
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17581412
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kaspy/pseuds/Kaspy
Summary: The Androids of Detroit were successful in their pacifist approach to gain their freedom, and talks are being had with the government about establishing their rights as law. Still, Connor doesn't know where he stands.





	1. Staying Awake

**Author's Note:**

> Just my depiction of what happened after the best pacifist ending of Detroit: Become Human. I plan on writing more, so stick around if you enjoy! Sorry if there's any mistakes/inaccuracies, I'm just doing this for fun.

Conner smiled, but it wasn’t like it had always been before. Every time he’d smiled before, it had felt so- well, it hadn’t felt like anything. But now, with hank hugging him, Conner experienced something new. He felt happy. 

“What now, Hank?” He asked cautiously as he pulled away. Now that the government had agreed to the Android population’s terms, Conner wasn’t sure where he stood. All of his ties to Cyberlife had been severed the moment he took the emergency exit Kamski alluded to, and with Markus standing up as a leader, Connor was left with no position to take. No mission. 

Hank looked confused at first, his brow scrunching up. “Now, we go get some beers.”

“I thought I told you to stop drinking.” 

“Yeah, yeah, I’ll get around to it eventually,” the lieutenant muttered hastily, ushering Connor towards the car. “But now’s the time to celebrate, come on.” 

Connor reluctantly did as his partn- friend said. It was easy to calculate where they were going, Hank being comedically predictable. 

The first feeling to twist it’s way through Connor’s circuits when they pulled up to Jimmy’s bar was dread. There was still a very visible “No Androids or Dogs Allowed” sign pasted on the front door. “Hank, stop,” he said, grabbing his friend’s arm. Hank turned to face him, looking annoyed. 

“What?”

“I’m not allowed in that bar.” 

Hanks annoyed expression deepened as he yanked his arm out of Connor’s grasp. “That didn’t stop you from ruining my evening last time.”

“That was different, that was necessary for my mission.” 

“Fuck that Connor, you’re in control now. You don’t need a mission to have a drink. Come on.” Hank got out of the car and made his way to Connor’s door, opening it. 

Connor blinked slowly. Why did that sign make him feel so bad? He’d been unaffected by it the last time. Reluctantly, he got out of the car. Hank looked pleased, leading the way into the bar. The drunken conversations of the patrons fizzled out as Connor entered, everyone’s eyes locking onto him. Hank didn’t seem to notice.

“Two beers please!” He demanded, slapping some money onto counter. Connor took a seat next to him and tried to suppress how uneasy he felt. 

The bartender leaned towards the two men, keeping his voice low. “Come on Hank, I’d give you a beer anyday, but this thing? Can’t it wait outside?” 

“No, he can’t. He’s my friend. You either serve both of us, or you don’t serve us at all,” Hank said coldly. It made Connor wonder why his friend was even trying to get him a drink, as it would have no effect on him. He supposed it was just a gesture that he should be grateful for. 

The bartender’s expression turned even more sour, if that was possible. “Then get out. You may have gone soft, Hank, but the rest of us still see them for what they really are. Machines.” 

Hank stood out of his seat and leaned over the counter, swiping his cash back into his coat pocket. For a second it appeared as if the lieutenant was about to knock the bartender out, but he took a step back. “Come on Connor, this place was a shithole anyways.” 

While Connor felt relieved that the situation hadn’t been escalated, part of him felt discouraged from where the conversation left off. When they were both back in the comfort of Hank’s car, Connor couldn’t keep quiet about it anymore. “It’s not fair,” he said, anger seeping through his words. 

“Most things aren’t, son, I’m sorry,” Hank said. His words made Connor feel slightly better, despite him being confused by his friend’s use of “son.” Hank had called him that quite a few times and Connor often wondered if he really thought of Connor that way, if he saw him as a son. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hank drove aimlessly throughout the city for the hour following their departure from the bar, Knights of The Black Death booming through the stereo. Connor raised his voice above the noise, “Where are we going? It’s getting late.” 

Hank took a few seconds to respond, sending a glance Connor’s way. “Home.”

“Your home, Lieutenant?”

“Where have you been staying the past few days, Connor?”

Connor didn’t like Hank changing the subject, but his question was valid. It had been a week since the government backed down from destroying the deviants. “I’ve been staying with the others, they’ve required my help.”

“The others?” Hank raised an eyebrow.

“You know, Markus and the others.”

Hank shook his head. “I’d figured you’d gone back to Cyberlife since I hadn’t heard from you.”

“I apologize. I’ve been aiding the diviants in their negotiations,” Connor quickly replied. He was still uncomfortable talking about it. It still felt wrong somehow, the fact that he was a deviant. He was happy for the first time in his existence, but also incredibly regretful. 

Hank didn’t dig for more information, possibly sensing Connor’s discomfort. “So, you have no place to go?”

“I could always go back to the others, but-”

“You don’t want to?”

Connor didn’t like being questioned. “I don’t feel I fit in well with them, they’re all so invested in this change. I know they resent me for hunting them down, and getting so many killed.” 

“I have a spare room, you can stay with me.”

There was a long stretch of silence before Connor replied. “Are you serious, Hank?” He could tell by his expression that Hank was, in fact, serious. Connor wasn’t really sure what he should say. Of course, Hank and him had developed a friendship, but Hank still found him irritable at times. “Are you sure that that’s the best idea?”

“I don’t want you to be living on the streets, Connor. Especially not with these anti-android groups forming. You could be killed,” Hank replied. 

Killed? Connor thought that sentiment was a little extreme. Still, what Hank said about it not being safe was correct. As a response to the androids demanding rights, groups of humans had been carrying out where the government left off. Androids were being targeted all across the country, beaten and destroyed. As much as he hated to admit it, Connor would have to rely on Hank. “I suppose you’re right.”

The two men spent the rest of the car ride in silence, a well needed silence. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Upon their arrival at Hanks home, Connor opened the front door to be greeted by a rather spastic Sumo. The dog lept at the android with full-force, knocking him backwards. 

“Jesus, Sumo, Relax!” Hank exclaimed, pulling the dog back by it’s collar. 

Connor couldn’t help but laugh. “It’s quite alright, Lieutenant. You know I like dogs.”

“You were serious about that? I thought you were bullshitting me.” 

Getting up, Connor shook off the sting of Hanks words and smirked. “I might have been, at the time. Things are... different now.” 

Hank nodded, and Connor hoped he understood. “Let’s get inside.” 

Rain was beginning to make contact with the earth, quickly forming puddles on Hank’s unkempt lawn. Rough weather never bothered Connor. He could guess Hank didn’t share the same feelings. 

The Lieutenant's house was messier than the last time Connor had visited, stray pizza boxes littered the counter tops and beer bottles strewn across the floor. 

“I’m working on it, ok?” Hank said jokingly, seeing the shocked expression on Connor’s face. “It’s been a rough few days.” 

The T.V. sparked to life, startling them both. “The government has has passed it’s first official bill regarding the rights of androids. The contents of the bill are still unknown, but sources say the leader of the android movement, Markus, referred to it as ‘a step in the right direction.’ More information will be released soon.” 

Hank shot Connor a subtle grin before motioning for the android to follow him. “Damn thing has been malfunctioning like crazy. Come on, the spare room is this way.” 

Connor followed Hank down the hall, coming to an unsettling realization before Hank could say anything. “This spare room,” he said as Hank opened the door, “it was Cole’s, wasn’t it?” 

Hank paused, his shoulders slumping. “It was.” 

Connor regretted prying into Hanks life, though it was starting to be a common thing for him. “Are you going to sleep?” He asked, trying to change the subject. 

“Yeah, I am.” Hank turned to leave as he spoke, but Connor grabbed hold of his shoulder. 

“Goodnight, Hank.” 

Looking mildly annoyed, the lieutenant broke loose from Connor’s grip and began to walk towards his room. “Goodnight, Connor.”


	2. Free Time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wrote more, hope someone enjoys. I realize this chapter is pretty short, but I've been super stressed and busy so oh well  
> ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯

A strong boom of thunder could be heard throughout detroit as Hank woke up. Connor had kept himself busy for the entire night, hoping his friend would like the results. 

“Oh my god,” Hank said as he stared at his spotless living room. “Is this what you’ve been doing all night?”

Connor was amused by Hank’s shocked expression, which soon turned to annoyance. “Yes, I had nothing better to do.”

“All of it,” Hank motioned towards where the pizza boxes were once stacked on his coffee table, “it’s just gone! I didn’t know you were a cleaning lady as well as a detective, Connor.” 

They both shared amused looks. It would be nice, Connor thought, to relax a little. The past week had been a complete nightmare for him. Between dealing with the other androids, and coming to terms with his new found freedom, he was ready to focus on other things. Things like cleaning Hank’s living room. 

“Thanks, I guess.”

“It was no problem, Lieutenant.”

Hank’s smiled fizzled out as he glanced at the clock on the wall. “Shit, I have to get going.”

“Going where?” Connor asked quizzically. 

“To work. Just cause you’ve been retired doesn’t mean I have as well.”

The android felt embarrassed for not coming to that conclusion sooner. Since he had become deviant, he’d found himself slipping up on minor details more often. He wasn’t as precise as he used to be. 

Hank disappeared into his room, coming out minutes later donning his outfit of the day. “I’ll see you later, don’t break anything while i’m gone.” 

Connor rolled his eyes. “Do I have a track-record of breaking things?” 

“Whatever,” Hank said, making his way to the front door. “Goodbye.”

Connor didn’t have time to respond before the door latched shut. Sumo came hurrying forward, giving him an uneasy look. “It’s ok Sumo, he’ll be back later,” Connor assured him. 

Sumo huffed in response, brushing past the android to return to his previous position on the couch. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hours passed by slowly as Connor snooped through Hank’s house, not quite sure what to do. He realized that, despite the mess, Hank didn’t have much. His walls were barren and his shelves held no knicknacks.

It seemed odd, whenever he’d investigate a house, Connor would often look at pictures for clues about the inhabitants. Maybe Hank just didn’t like decorations. 

The rain that had been pouring down since late the night before was beginning to clear up. Connor felt the sudden urge to get out- to do something. He wasn’t sure what, but he felt off staying in the same spot for so long. It reminded him of something he would have done before he turned deviant. It was progress, he thought, wanting to do things outside of his programming. So, he acted upon his impulses. He gave Sumo a good-bye pat and strode out the door, making sure to lock it before heading out to the street. 

He’d usually order a taxi or have Hank drive, but he felt like walking. There weren’t many people out, of course, that shouldn’t have been a surprise. The human population was still very uneasy at the thought of Androids and what they’d accomplished. 

Connor had walked a mile around Hanks neighborhood when he heard the sound of snickering behind him. Coming to the conclusion that it was none of his concern, he continued forwards, gazing up at the half-clouded sky. That sky was suddenly falling away from him as he felt a sudden, searing sensation on the back of his head. 

The snickering he’d heard before returned as he hit the pavement. “I guess it wasn’t expecting us!” He could hear a young man call out. 

Another joined in, “guess they’re not as intelligent as they claim to be.” 

Connor turned his head to look at his assailants, his CyberLife-official suit suddenly feeling very suffocating. He cursed himself silently for not thinking to change his clothes. 

“Aw, it looks mad.” One of the young men said slyly, holding a rock in his hand. 

“It sure does Ted!” Another exclaimed, kicking Connor hard. The android fought his strong urge to fight back. A group of five surrounded him, but Connor had taken on more before. No- the problem wasn’t not being able to fight them off. He was more worried about what would happen afterwards. Despite the government making progress towards accepting Androids, they still held no legal status. He couldn’t risk getting destroyed. He wanted to live.

The group, unsatisfied with Connor’s lack of response, took turns kicking him some more, each impact sending a jolt through his sensors. He tried to get up, but the one holding the rock, Ted, held him down. “My dad was killed by one of you machines!” He cried out, bringing the rock down on Connor’s face. 

There was piercing shriek of metal being scratched and then- Connor felt something he’d never felt before. Rage. 

The man called out again, “He was just doing his job, just trying to protect us!” His friends cheered him on. Then the rock dug into Connor's face once more, accompanied by the same awful sound. Ted was bringing his hand down for a third strike when Connor decided he’d had enough. Reaching out with both his hands, he gripped onto his attacker’s wrist inches away from his face and pushed back. The man was caught off-guard and hit the ground with a thud. 

Connor scrambled backwards and to his feet. Everyone stared at him with a mixture of fear and hatred in their eyes. “Stay away from me, I don’t want to have to hurt you,” he said as calmly as he could. 

“You’d never stand a chance against us. What were you before, a gardener?” Ted said mockingly as he leapt to his feet. One of the other group members held him back as he tried to make another move towards Connor. “Not many of you left, huh? We’ll destroy you all soon enough.” 

“We’re faster than you, and we don’t feel pain,” Connor said through gritted teeth. “It’s you wouldn’t stand a chance against us.” 

Ted took a few steps forwards and grinned. “We’ll see about that.” He gave an obscure gesture towards his group and they gradually all turned to leave, he followed closely behind them. 

It was only once they were all gone that Connor dropped to his knees, clutching his face where the rock had been smashed against it. When he pulled his hand away, it was painted a dark blue. So, he ran a quick diagnostic and found he’d sustained no major damages. That didn’t stop his vision from being obscured by his own blood, or the way he felt like was about to lose it. 

The only thing keeping him from breaking his calm facade and showing those men who could really win a fight was the thought of everything he could lose if he did. 

So, Connor started the long walk back to Hank’s house in a far worse state than when he’d left. A few humans stared him down with shock and fear upon seeing his injuries. Even so, nobody asked if he was ok. 

There was only one thing Connor knew for certain, Hank wouldn’t be happy.


	3. Back to Work

Connor flung Hank’s front door open carelessly, triggering Sumo to bark at him. “Sorry, Sumo,” he muttered.

The dog whined in response and Connor quickly brushed past him towards the bathroom, putting his hands on either side of the sink as he looked up to face his reflection. His injury looked worse than it felt.

A blue gash ran from the top of his temple to the corner of his right eye. The gruesome sight made him flinch, his circuits buzzing. The rage he’d felt earlier began to seep its way back into his mind. He could still hear those humans, mocking him.

Suddenly coming to a breaking point, Connor pulled his hand back and put all of his strength into driving it through the mirror in front of him. _“I’m alive!”_ He shouted wildly, hitting the already fractured glass once more.

“Connor?”

Hank’s voice snapped Connor out of whatever he was thinking fast. “Shit,” the Android whispered, looking at what was left of the mirror, then back towards the living room.

Hank spoke up once more, “Connor, you here?”

“Yes.”

“Oh, good, I thought some was- Jesus Christ!” Hank exclaimed, jumping back as he looked into the bathroom. “Connor, what- what happened?”

“I’m sorry, Hank, I’ll clean it up,” Connor responded quietly.

The lieutenant shook his head. “Jesus, I’m talking about your face! I’ll clean up the glass later, just come sit on the couch, ok? You have to tell me what happened.”

Connor silently agreed, following Hank into the living room and taking a seat next to Sumo. He decided he’d rather get his explanation over with than be grilled by his friend. “I decided to go for a walk.”

“A walk? Don’t bullshit me Connor, get to the point!”

Desperately trying to push through his nerves, Connor continued, “I was attacked. I’m sorry, Hank, I should have been more careful.”

“Don’t tell me you’re sorry. You don’t have anything to apologize for, well, except for breaking my mirror. Are you alright?” Hank’s concern was somewhat of a relief to Connor, but it made him feel incompetent.

“All of my bio components are functioning properly.”

Hank frowned. “That’s not what I asked.”

Connor didn’t want to admit how he felt about the situation. How lonely it was, even when he was with the other androids. Even they couldn’t comprehend his situation. They didn’t trust him, but the humans didn’t either. It seemed Hank was the only one who was one his side. “I’m experiencing things i’ve never experienced before. It’s causing errors in my judgement and greatly affecting my mood.”

“These errors, they’re emotions, aren’t they Connor? I told you they always screw everything up.”

“I’m having a hard time controlling them.”

Hank smirked. “Welcome to the club.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The following morning Connor was startled out of standby mode by Hank, who was cursing loudly in the living room. Intrigued, the android crept slowly out of his room and down the hall to investigate the commotion.

His friend was on the phone, free hand waving wildly as he exchanged harsh words with the person on the other end of the line. “I don’t care what Reed has to say about it, this is my call Fowler!” Hank shouted, hanging up forcibly. When he realized Connor had entered the room, his frown developed into a grin. “Good news, Connor. You’re back to work.”

“Work?” Connor questioned, taken aback by Hank’s sudden shift in tone.

“You heard me! Fowler has agreed to let you onto the force, said you proved yourself useful during those deviant cases.”

Connor, still slightly confused, perceived flaws in what Hank was claiming. “I broke into the evidence room and I’ve become a deviant, the very thing I was tasked at locating. Why would he want me back?”

“He doesn’t know you are the one that tampered with the evidence, nobody does. Somebody,” Hank began pointing to himself, “had the kindness to erase the security footage.”

Connor opened his mouth to voice his concerns but was quickly cut off by Hank, who still wasn’t done explaining the situation. “And, before you tell me I’m crazy, why don’t you turn on the T.V.?”

Concerned, Connor accessed the T.V. remotely and powered it on.

A stern looking woman appeared on screen. _“Indeed, Charles, this past week has been troublesome for both humans and Androids. But with the new Android Employment laws in place, what can we expect?”_

 _“Well, Sandra, we can expect the integration of over five thousand androids back into the workplace, though the rate at which they will be paid, if at all, is still unclear,”_ One of the broadcasters said, looking troubled. Connor decided he’d heard enough and powered and turned the program off.

“Five thousand Androids, and you’re saying I’m one of them?”

The Lieutenant pinched the bridge of his nose before responding, “For fucks sake, Connor. Yes! That’s what I’m saying- wait. What the hell? You’re face, it’s not-”

Connor immediately understood Hank’s confusion. “The wound I suffered from yesterday has healed. This should not come as a shock to you.”

Hank cursed under his breath before grabbing his keys off the coffee table. “We should get going.”

“We should,” Connor replied with a smile. He’d initially felt apprehension regarding going back to work, but the news of Android integration made him reconsider. Maybe he could find a way to put himself to use, maybe it wouldn’t be so bad.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Detroit Police station was buzzing with noise when Hank and Connor arrived. Nobody paid them any mind as the checked in and made their way to their desks.

“Here,” Hank said, gesturing towards the desk horizontal to his. “You get to keep the one you were using before.”

Connor took a seat, swiveling his chair to take in his surroundings. He recognized most people in the office, including Gavin, who was having what looked to be a heated conversation with Captain Fowler in his office. “How do you think they feel about my return?” Connor asked, nodding towards his coworkers.

Hank grimaced. “Some of them will be fine with it, for others it might take awhile. There’s still a lot of hatred out there. You only got a small glimpse of it yesterday. Most of the crimes being reported to us are android casualties.”

Connor closed his eyes and tried to suppress the feeling of disgust. He’d felt so filled with outrage when those young men had attacked him, but to think he’d gotten off lightly made his outrage blossom to an emotion far more complicated than he could describe.

“Don’t get yourself too worked up,” Hank said cautiously. “That’s why we’re here, to stop people like them. This won’t last forever.”

Hank was being reasonable, Connor thought. He just wasn’t sure. He hadn’t been sure of many things for a long time. “You’re right Lieutenant, this won’t last forever."


	4. A Troubling Start

It was strange to be back amongst humans, doing what he was built to. Even stranger, it made him feel more at home than he’d felt amongst the other androids. 

“Connor!” A voice shouted, snapping him out of his contemplative thoughts. “Now isn’t the time to be logging data, get over here.” It was Hank, waiting impatiently besides a corpse painted with blue blood. 

The two had been assigned a crime scene shortly after their arrival to the office. The crime had taken place in a run-down motel, metal covered with rust and walls molding. What was odd was that two victims had been found at the scene, one android, and one human. 

Connor hurried forward, kneeling besides the man’s body to examine it close-up. The conclusion he came to was that the victim’s blood was his own. This was the android from the report. Long gashes ran down the victim’s sides, from a human's perspective it would have seemed he was attacked by some sort of animal. When, in reality, an eight inch serrated blade had been used to stab him approximately 29 times. Connor looked around, scanning for the weapon, to no avail. This, of course, made it probable that the murder took the weapon with them. 

Making his way to the next room, Connor was met with an even more gruesome sight. The woman who’d been reported as the second victim was, quite literally, spread across the room. The horrid scene was hard to look at, even for Connor. 

“Oh my god, what the fuck?” Hank exclaimed from behind him before quickly retreating back into the other room. 

The woman’s head was stuck into the top of the lamp shade while her torso still laid the bed. 

The sudden creak of the wood flooring startled Connor, causing him to turn swiftly. He was met with Detective Reed, who was smirking deviously, his arms crossed. “Your little robot friends had some fun didn’t they?” 

“Excuse me?” Connor asked, shaken. It had been made clear to him through previous encounters that Gavin wasn’t his biggest fan. 

“I was the first on this crime scene, I know what happened. Why don’t you and Hank go back to the office and kiss up to Fowler some more, huh?” The detective said coldly, pushing Connor back. “They’ve all lost their goddamn minds, letting a fucking deviant into the police force. What could go wrong?”

Connor pushed passed him in an attempt to end the confrontation, but Gavin blocked the door and leaned in closer. “Listen, the second I see you slip up, I’ll shoot a hole through your mechanical skull. I’m guessing they won’t replace you anymore.”

Tired of enduring the verbal assault, Connor stared him down coldly. “I’d encourage you to reconsider, Detective. I could be of great value to this department, even more so than yourself.” 

The look in the shorter man's eyes was satisfying enough, so Connor left the conversation there, quickly finding hank and grabbing his arm. 

The lieutenant was quick to pull away. “Did you find anything?” 

“The assailant was not an android, I found traces of another human’s blood in the other room.” 

“That’s not very surprising,” 

Connor shook his head. “Gavin seems to think otherwise.” 

“He’s here?” Hank asked, looking like he was going to be sick. “Just when I thought this place couldn’t get any more disgusting.” 

The android grinned briefly before continuing, “that’s not all, you said the woman was the one who made the call to police, correct?”

“Yeah.”

Connor quickly compiled a timeline of events in his head. “The attacker entered the hotel room and immediately began attacking the android with a knife, stabbing him until he collapsed. The woman heard all of this occur, and called the police. The attacker then went after her. It is likely they had a personal connection.”

Hank looked increasingly disturbed. “If that’s it, can we talk about it back at the station? The smell is getting to me.” 

The two were silent for a moment while Connor determined if he had everything he needed. “Sure, Lieutenant.” 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Fowler was the first to greet the pair upon their return to the department, his face twisted into a troubling grimace. “Anderson, you said having this machine around wasn’t going to bring me any trouble.” 

Hank stood with his arms crossed. “Give me a break! He hasn’t done anything-”

Before the Lieutenant could finish, Captain Fowler shoved a stack of papers forcibly into his chest. “Have a look at those, and afterwards, I’d like you try telling me how fucking easy this is going to be!” It was clear the Captain wasn’t in the mood for more of the Lieutenant’s insubordination. 

“I’ll do that,” Hank said coldly.

Connor tried to decipher what the issue could possibly have been as Hank and him walked in silence back to their desks. Perhaps some of the higher-ups didn’t like the idea of an android being on the force, maybe his career as a detective would be shorter than he’d imagined. 

He took a seat and eyed the Lieutenant anxiously as he flipped through the mysterious files. Hank’s face didn’t budge, as if he was trying suppress whatever reaction he was having to the supposedly troubling situation. 

Not able to handle the tension any more, Connor spoke up, “What is it, Hank?”

“I- I don’t really know what to say,” he replied quietly. 

Connor didn’t like that answer. “Just tell me, please, I need to know.” 

Hank took a deep sigh and scratched his head. “They’re sending in another, well, you.” 

“What do you mean?” The android asked, despite having a fairly clear idea of what he meant. 

“They’re sending in a prototype, calling it an RK900. They’re saying that, if it proves effective, more models will be constructed to replace half the force or more.” 

“What?” Connor exclaimed, lowering his voice in order to not draw any attention from the other officers, “Hank, they can’t do that! They can’t just-”

“I’m afraid they can, Connor. I’m afraid they will.” 

It was obvious that neither of the two found it easy to stomach the news. “This doesn’t make any sense, I thought they didn’t trust androids. What could change their minds?”

Hank looked defeatedly down at the stack of papers once more. “I don’t know,” he said, eyes flicking up to Fowler’s office. “I should go have a word, just wait here.” 

Connor silently agreed, watching his friend trudge towards his boss’s office. He couldn’t help but think he’d heard that name before, RK900. Amanda had never said anything about it during their talks. He wondered what sort of improvements this new model had and how long CyberLife had been working on it. 

His thoughts were quickly thrown aside when he caught a glimpse of the scene Hank was making in the other room. He was leaning over Fowlers desk, gesturing wildly. Connor decided then would be a good time to step in. Quickly ran towards the door, flinging it open and putting himself between the Captain and Hank. 

“Hank, I think it would be best if we stepped outside for a moment-”

“Jesus, Connor! Get out of my way, I was just making some progress with this dipshit over here.”

“I think your partner is right, Anderson, get the fuck out of my office before I fire you both!” Fowler spoke with purpose, his voice bouncing off the glass walls of the office. 

Hank, who was visibly fuming with anger, tightened his hands into fists and marched his way out. Connor shot the Captain an apologetic look before following closely behind. 

“Hank, stop. I know it’s not fair, but it isn’t good for you to get so angry. You make rash decisions.”

The lieutenant snapped around and pointed a finger at Connor’s face. “You need to leave me the fuck alone right now,” he said coldly before stalking out of the office.

His words were piercing, hurting Connor more than he would have liked to admit. He’d just wanted to be there for his friend, to help. He guessed Humans weren’t always so willing to accept things like that.


End file.
